Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-05-31
CHAPTER XII.


| About an hour before shutdown we at last
to my unbounded gratitude, emerged, from
! the great belt Of marsh on TO land that swellet
upward in a succession Of rolling waves Jus
on the hither side OF the crest of the frs
wave we halted for the night My first aci
was TO examine Leo's condition. It WAS II
anything, worse than In the morning, and a
new and very distressing feature, vomiting,
set in and continued till dawn Not one winl,
of sleep did get that night, for passed it in
assisting Ustane, who was one OF the most
gentle and indefatigable nurses ever saw,
to wait upon leo and Job. However, the air
here was warm and genial without being too
hot, and there were no mosquitoes to speak
Of Also we were above the level Of the
marsh mist, which lay stretched beneath us
like the dim smoke pail over city, lit ur
hero and there by the wandering globes OF
fen fire. Thus it viii be seen that we were,
speaking comparatively, in clover
By dawn on the following morning Leo was
quite light headed and fancied that he was
divided into halves was dreadfully dis
tressed, and began TO wonder with a sort
Of sick fear what the termination of the
attack would be. Alasl had heard too
much of how these attacks generally ter
inmate. As was doing so Billali came up and
said that We must be getting on, more es-
pecially as, in his opinion, IL Leo did not reach
some spot where he could DO quiet and have
proper nursing within the next twelve hours,
his life would only be matter Of day or
two. l could not but agree with him; so We
got him into the litter, and started on, I'm.
stane walking by his side TO keep the flies OF
I'm mi hot ha ,nN -. ~
out on to the ground.
Within half an hour Of sunrise we had
reached the top OF the rise of which | have
spoken, and most beautiful view broke upon
our gaze. Beneath us was rich stretch of
country, verdant with grass and lovely with
foliage and flowers. In tho background, at q
distance, so far as l could judge, Of some
eighteen miles from where we then stood, a
huge and extraordinary mountain rose ab.
ruptly from tho plain. The base of this great
mountain appeared to consist of n grassy
slope, but rising from this, l should say, from
subsequent observation, at height Of about
500 feet above the level Of tho plain, WINS n
most tremendous and absolutely precipitous
wall OF bare rock, quite I 200 or 800 feet in
aeight The shape Of tho mountain, which
vas undoubtedly OF volcanic origin, WINS
round, and OF course, us only a segment of its
irclo wns visible, it was difficult To estimate
% exact size, which was enormous l after
ward discovered that 10 could not cover less
than fifty square miles Of ground Anything
moro grand and imposing than the sight pre-
sented by this great natural castlc, starting
In solitary grandeur from the level of the
plain, ! never saw, and suppose never shall
Its very solitude added TO its majesty, and its
towering cliffs seemed to kiss the sky Indeed
generally speaking, thoy wore clothed in
clouds That lay In 1eocy masses upon their
broad and Lowell battloments.
sat up In my hammock and gnzed out
ncross tho plain at this thrilling and majestic
sight, and suppose that Billali noticed It, for
he brought his litter alongside
Behold tho house of e-who-must-be.
obeyedp he said. HHad ever queen such a
throne beforen
ut Is wonderful, my father,p / answered.
But how does one enterl Those cliffs look
hard TO climb1
NThou shalt see, my Baboon. Look now at
the plain below us. What thinkest thou that
II Isl Thou art wiso man. Come, tell me.
looked and saw what appeared to DO tho
line broadway running straight toward tho
base OF tho mountain, though It was covered
with turf. There were high banks OH each
sido OF it, broken here and there, but fairly
on the whole, the meaning OF
which did not understand 1t seemed so
very odd that anybody could ombank road.
way. 1
"Well, my fathor,D I answered, al suppose
hat II is n road, otherwise would have been